Saudi Arabia: Makkah Tower, the biggest clock in the world starts operation in Ramadan

Saudi Arabia (Makkah ) – With many countries in the world celebrating the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia’s and the world’s biggest clock perched on the Makkah Clock Tower started the trial run since Wednesday morning.

The clock is perched on a sky rise which is part of the King Abdelaziz endowment property in Makkah, and the entire tower project is due for completion in three months.

The project was ordered by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz in an attempt to provide an alternative for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), currently used as international reference.
The design of the project has traditional Islamic architectural features and the clock is to be run with the latest operating systems and gear.

The tower is 601 meters high and the clock has four faces, one in each direction, with the name of Allah on top of each. The face of the clock is over 40 meters in diameter and is over 400 meters above surface level.

The call for prayer from the Holy Mosque would be heard from the new landmark’s loudspeakers for a distance of almost seven kilometers. The tower itself could be seen from a distance of eight kilometers.